28 February, 2012
Colombia’s Quest For Peace And Justice: The International And National Context
By James Petras
Above all over 4 million displaced Colombians, forcibly dispossessed by the Uribe regime, must be mobilized to repossess their lands and provided with credit, loans and an opportunity to escape their current misery and squalor
06 March, 2011
Summit In Venezuela Opens 'New Phase In History'
By Federico Fuentes
A summit of huge importance was held in Venezuela on December 2-3. Two hundred years after Latin America’s independence fighters first raised the battle cry for a united Latin America, 33 heads of states from across the region came together to form the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
09 March, 2011
The First 9/11: Kissinger Operación Cóndor,
Pinochet (PDF)
By George Venturini
The first 9/11 occurred in 1973 in Santiago, Chile and places nearby. President Richard Milhous Nixon and Dr. Henry Alfred Kissinger were the instigators, General Augusto Pinochet simply the executioner
27 January, 2011
Honduras Human Rights Abuses Worse
One Year After President Lobo Took Office
By Bill Quigley & Pam Spees
Unprecedented violence against journalists is not an indicator of democratic governance and reconciliation. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), eight journalists were killed in the first half of Lobo’s first year in office, prompting Reporters Without Borders to name Honduras the most dangerous country in the world for journalists
26 January, 2011
Human Rights In The Rear View Mirror:
Colombian Commandos Training
Mexican Military And Police
By Cyril Mychalejko
In another misstep of the historic failure of Plan Colombia and the US supported War on Drugs, Colombia is training thousands of Mexican soldiers, police and court officials in an effort to boost Mexico's fight against drug cartels
05 December, 2010
Honduras: Latin America's Murder Capital
By Stephen Lendman
By some accounts, it's the world's murder capital. The UN Development Program (UNDP) reported 4,473 2008 murders (61.3 per 100,000) in a country with about 7.3 million people, the equivalent of over 190,000 annual US killings, over 10 times the actual rate
15 November, 2010
Colombia: Doing Business, Killing Workers
By Federico Fuentes
A November 4 World Bank and International Finance Corporation report, Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs, ranked Colombia as the 39th most “business friendly environment” in the world. Missing from the report were the more than 500 unionists killed in Colombia over the past eight years, making up 60% of all unionists killed globally
23 October, 2010
Ecuador's Challenge: Rafael Correa
And The Indigenous Movements
By Benjamin Dangl
Indigenous movements protested a right wing coup attempt on September 30 th while criticizing the negative policies of Correa, a president widely considered a member of Latin America's new left who is working to implement modern democratic socialism. How did it come to this? The history of the dance between Correa and the indigenous movements offers insight into the current political crisis in the country
21 October, 2010
Honduras: Crisis And Progress
By Bill Quigley & Laura Raymond
Today, October 21, the democratic resistance in Honduras will celebrate Artists in Resistance Day. This event contrasts directly with today’s official recognition of Honduras Armed Forces day. The resistance, which is working for a truly democratic Honduras, renamed the day and created an alternative celebration because of a brutal police attack on musicians and others last month that left one dead and scores injured
Latin America: Roads To 21st Century
Capitalist Development
By James Petras
A wealth of data based on extensive field interviews, statistical studies published by international development agencies, reports by economic consultancies and business and investment houses, as well as discussions with independent social movement leaders provides ample documentation to argue that Latin America has taken multiple roads to 21st century capitalism, not socialism or anything akin to it
05 October, 2010
More on Washington's Failed Ecuadorean
Coup Attempt
By Stephen Lendman
Washington's fingerprints are again visible, and though unsuccessful, Correa can by no means rest, not with actors like O'Grady around, vilifying less than hard right leaders, stopping just short of endorsing their ouster
04 October, 2010
Piedad Córdoba And Her Fight For Peace
By Fidel Castro
Faced with such an unusual and drastic measure taken against an elected post in the highest legislative body of state, Piedad has no alternative other than appealing to the very Attorney General who produced the measures
01 October, 2010
Failed Washington-Sponsored Ecuadorean
Coup Attempt
By Stephen Lendman
Post-9/11, Washington sponsored four coup d'etats. Two succeeded - most recently in Honduras in 2009 against Manuel Zelaya, and in Haiti in 2004 deposing Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Two others failed - in Venezuela in 2002 against Hugo Chavez, and on September 30 in Ecuador against Rafael Correa - so far. Two by Bush, two by Obama with plenty of time for more mischief before November 2012
28 September, 2010
Venezuela Votes
By Stephen Lendman
Venezuelans now and ahead have a choice. They can go back to the bad old days or "vot(e) for the greater good" and keep their hard won social gains. Most Americans can't even imagine them under a government serving everyone, not just society's privileged the way imperial Washington does it for corporatists and militarists alone
18 September, 2010
Life In Devastated Haiti
By Stephen Lendman
Nine months after the January 12 earthquake, Haitians still have little relief. Over one and a half million left homeless continue struggling to survive, despite billions in aid raised or pledged. It's for development, predatory NGOs, not them. That's the problem, and they suffer as a result, little media attention paid to their plight
23 August, 2010
Political Killings In Colombia
By Stephen Lendman
Colombia, America's closest South American ally, is a corrupted narco-state, a repressive death squad faux democracy, threatening regional neighbors, and reigning terror against trade unionists, human rights workers, campesinos, pro-democracy organizations, independent journalists, and legitimate resistance groups like the FARC-EP
15 August, 2010
Bolivia: Social Tensions Erupt
By Federico Fuentes
Indigenous Quechua protesters blockaded the main road between La Paz and Potosi on August 8. Recent scenes of roadblocks, strikes and even the dynamiting of a vice-minister’s home in the Bolivian department (administrative district) of Potosi, reminiscent of the days of previous neoliberal governments, have left many asking themselves what is really going on in the “new” Bolivia of indigenous President Evo Morales
12 August, 2010
US -- Venezuela: The Empire
Strikes Back (And Loses)
By James Petras
US policy toward Venezuela has taken many tactical turns, but the objective has been the same: to oust President Chavez, reverse the nationalization of big businesses, abolish the mass community and worker based councils and revert the country into a client-state
29 July, 2010
American Designs In Latin America
By Timothy V. Gatto
The United States has many fences in Latin America that need mending. You can see by the attention the U.S. is paying to Costa Rica, Colombia and Panama that the government in Washington is keenly aware of this and is responding in the only way it knows how to respond…militarily. This is the only response that America knows
27 July, 2010
Will The U.S. Annex Latin America?
By Timothy V. Gatto
The United States of America has turned this planet into a playground for the Pentagon and we have seen an influx of soldiers and materials for waging war filling the airfields of Columbia, Costa Rica, Afghanistan, Poland and scores of other nations that have allowed their nations to be forward operating areas for this American Empire
16 July, 2010
The U.S. Military Moves Into Costa Rica
By Mark Vorpahl
In early July, by a vote of 31 to 8, the Costa Rican Congress approved the U.S. bringing into their nation a force of 7,000 troops, 200 helicopters, and 46 warships in an effort to eradicate drug trafficking , justified with the same dubious "war on drugs" rationale
29 June, 2010
Leader of Deathsquads Wins Colombian Election
By James Petras
Juan Manuel Santos, notorious Defense Minister in the regime of outgoing President Alvaro Uribe and closely identified with high crimes against humanity “won” the recent Presidential elections in Colombia, June 2010
28 June, 2010
One Year Later: Honduras Resistance Strong
Despite US-Supported Coup
By Bill Quigley & Laura Raymond
Moving forward from this unfortunate anniversary, one thing is certain -- the people’s movement in Honduras is only growing. The resistance has gone ahead with organizing for a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. Today there will be massive demonstrations throughout Honduras. We must stand with this dramatic and powerful social movement and challenge our own government to support the forces of democracy, not destroy them
The Media Empire Strikes Back:
Reviewing Reviews of South of the Border
By Cyril Mychalejko
Honest criticism of Stone's film should be welcome. It is certainly debatable whether South of the Border will be a popular and effective "101 introduction to a situation in South America that most Americans and Europeans don't know about.” I hope it is. I hope that it reaches a broad audience and moves viewers to seek out more information on the history and current events of Latin America. But the reviews aforementioned do little more than expose the ideological biases that dominate the U.S. media and the laziness that afflicts journalists today
13 June, 2010
Private Contractors And Covert Wars
In Latin America
By Cyril Mychalejko
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) threatened to issue subpoenas against the U.S. Defense and State Departments last month if they continue to refuse to accurately account for billions of dollars spent on private contractors assisting Washington in the 'war on drugs' in Latin America. But McCaskill's concerns raise broader questions about oversight and transparency of a controversial industry and its ever expanding role in Washington's foreign policy
24 May, 2010
Latin America’s New Middle Class Rulers
By James Petras
The consequential left must take a stand either in solidarity with the economic struggles of the emerging new autonomous trade unions and class -ethnic based social movements. The revival of popular revolutionary movements begins by rejecting complicity with the new middle class rulers presiding over the new phase of state-private capitalist expansion
23 May, 2010
Venezuela's Economic Woes?
By Federico Fuentes
Faced with the deepening world economic crisis, the Venezuelan government is taking stronger measures against those responsible — the capitalists. These measures include new nationalisations to tackle food hoarding and underproduction, a clampdown on illegal money trading and speculation, and the creation of a new state import-export company
24 March, 2010
For Venezuela, There Is No Going Back
By Ali Mustafa
A Discussion with Federico Fuentes and Kiraz Janicke
23 March, 2010
Militarizing Latin America
By Noam Chomsky
Establishing US military bases in Colombia is only one part of a much broader effort to restore Washington's capacity for military intervention. There has been a sharp increase in US military aid and training of Latin American officers, focusing on light infantry tactics to combat "radical populism" -- a concept that sends shivers up the spine in the Latin American context
Venezuela In Washington's Crosshairs
By Stephen Lendman
During her March 1 - 5 Latin American tour, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gratuitously insulted Chavez. So did Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Arturo Valenzuela, in Senate testimony, accusing him of FARC-EP ties - suggesting much more to come to boost opposition candidates in September parliamentary elections
Venezuela: New Moves To Build People's Power
By Federico Fuentes
The Venezuelan government has launched a number of initiatives in recent weeks aimed to tackle threats to the revolutionary process — including from elements within the pro-Chavez camp that seek to undermine plans to deepen the revolution
10 March, 2010
Haiti's Plight
By Dr. Carl E. Briscoe Jr.
An academic and analytical examination of “The Current Haitian Crisis”
07 March, 2010
Obama State Department: Venezuela Must Return
To Free Market Capitalism
By Sean Fenley
Hillary Clinton, stooge of U.S. avarice and imperialism, tells Venezuela to follow the example of Chile, Brazil, and presumably other countries in the region that it gives its ok to. Of course, the U.S. cares nothing for the advancements and the movement toward greater egalitarianism and justice brought about by the Bolivarian Revolution
06 March, 2010
Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton
Does Latin America
By Evgenij Haperskij & Kaycie Rupp
Secretary of State Clinton and her Assistant Secretary, on this try, do not seem to perceive that it is a changed world in terms of inter-American relations and that traditional concepts of pan-Americanism may be crumbling
22 February, 2010
Venezuela’s Revolution Faces Crucial Battles
By Federico Fuentes
Decisive battles between the forces of revolution and counter-revolution loom on the horizon in Venezuela. The campaign for the September 26 National Assembly elections will be a crucial battle between the supporters of socialist President Hugo Chavez and the US-backed right-wing opposition
29 December, 2009
In Search Of Mexico: Latin America’s Enigma
By Gaither Stewart
Who are these Mexicans who disturb the tranquility of the USA enough to necessitate a wall to separate the two North American peoples? Who are literally “dying” to get into fortress USA? What is their country like that they so readily abandon in order to work in Yankee supermarkets and California orchards, on New York skyscrapers and in households of the Atlantic seaboard? How is it possible that these two neighboring peoples are so dramatically different one from the other? In this essay I offer some personal answers
20 November, 2009
The Bolivarian Revolution And Peace
By Fidel Castro
Those who think that division between Venezuelans and Colombians can lead to the success of their counterrevolutionary plans are deceiving themselves. Many of the best and most humble workers in Venezuela are Colombians; the Revolution has given them and their immediate family education, healthcare, employment, the right to citizenship and other benefits. Together, Venezuelans and Colombians shall defend the great Homeland of the Liberator of the Americas; together, they shall fight for peace and freedom
08 November, 2009
The Annexation Of Colombia To The United States
By Fidel Castro
Anyone with some information can immediately see that the sweetened ‘Complementation Agreement for Defense and Security Cooperation and Technical Assistance between the Governments of Colombia and the United States’ signed on October 30, and made public in the evening of November 2, amounts to the annexation of Colombia to the United States
06 November, 2009
Honduran Accord Solidifies Coup D'Etat Rule
By Stephen Lendman
With elections in a few weeks, hardliners may stall, obstruct, and maintain the status quo until new officials take office in January
04 November, 2009
House Resolution Designates Venezuela
A State Sponsor Of Terrorism
By Stephen Lendman
Given Washington's inattention to essential needs, watch for even greater erosion compared to Chavez remaining popular by a two-to-one margin - a profile befitting a democrat, not a state-sponsor of terrorism
19 October, 2009
A Nobel Prize For Evo Morales
By Fidel Castro
If Obama was awarded the Nobel for winning the elections in a racist society despite his being African American, Evo deserves it for winning them in his country despite his being a native and his having delivered on his promises
18 September, 2009
U.S. Military Buildup In Colombia, Is The U.S.
Preparing For War With Venezuela?
By Mark Vorpahl
The U.S. State Department has just wrapped up a deal with Colombia’s President Uribe that will lead to a massive buildup of U.S. military personnel across seven bases in Colombia
07 August, 2009
Will Venezuelan Destabilization Follow
The Honduran Coup?
By Stephen Lendman
For the past ten and a half years, Washington and Venezuelan oligarchs have targeted Chavez relentlessly and won't let up while he's in office. Whether the Honduran coup signals stepped up efforts ahead remains to be seen. Perhaps so given Washington's regional history of intolerance of democracies that place national interests above America's. Chavez explained it well saying Obama "risk(s) being killed if he challenges the American empire." So far, there's not a hint of it in sight
Mexico's Fake RCMP Report Backfires
By Scott Campbell
An article on the recent developments in Oaxaca, Mexico regarding the 2006 murder of U.S. journalist Brad Will and how it relates to Plan Mexico, the three-year, $1.4 billion mostly-military U.S. aid package
02 August, 2009
The Crumbling U.S. Embargo On Cuba
By Sharat G. Lin
Having lifted the embargo just a little and let the Pastors for Peace Friendship Caravan through, President Obama needs to carry through on his promise of change by ending the U.S. embargo once and for all
23 July, 2009
Democracy Has A Price And I Am Prepared
To Pay It:Manuel Zelaya
By Giorgio Trucchi
Giorgio Trucchi's Interview with Honduran President Manuel Zelaya Rosales
10 July, 2009
Compromising Democracy In Honduras
By Shamus Cooke
Can a solution to the crisis in Honduras — itself the result of a military coup — be “mediated,” where on one side sit coup leaders and on the other a democratically elected but ousted President? Does any “middle ground” exist? Of course not. If President Zelaya unconditionally returns to finish his term in office, democracy will be restored; anything short of that will have democracy “compromised” into its opposite
07 July, 2009
Central America Plunged Back Into Chaos
By Jim Taylor
A military coup in a Latin American nation sounds as routine as afternoon tea in England. It feels a bit different if you’ve been there
01 July, 2009
The Significance Of Washington's
Coup Attempt In Honduras
By Shamus Cooke
The coup is likely to crumble, and Obama’s first attempt to re-tame Latin America will have failed. The actions of the U.N. and OAS are striking examples of the shrinking international influence of the U.S., meaning that future interventions — both military and economic — are likely to be more direct to restore U.S. hegemony. Obama’s more-subtle attempts to uphold U.S. “influence” in the world will ultimately require blunter, Bush-like tactics
17 June, 2009
Peru: Blood Flows In The Amazon
By James Petras
Dozens of Indians were killed or are missing, scores have been injured and arrested and a number of Peruvian police, held hostage by the indigenous protestors were killed in the assault. President García declared martial law in the region in order to enforce his unilateral and unconstitutional fiat granting of mining exploitation rights to foreign companies, which infringed on the integrity of traditional Amazonian indigenous communal lands
11 June, 2009
The Global Significance Of The Amazon Protest
By Sam Urquhart
The protests in Peru therefore have a global significance - both in terms of resistance against neo-colonial investment laws and in terms of environmental sustainability. The massacre at Bagua speaks to all of us
02 May, 2009
Putting An End To 'Stale Debates':
Obama And The CIA In The Americas
By Michael Galvin
Despite critical studies of US war crimes in the recent past appearing in increasing number, Obama’s moderate tone on the problematic history in the hemisphere seems to try to sweep this past under the rug. In other words, how can the Americas move forward together without fully acknowledging the crimes of the past and their roots in colonialist and reactionary ideology?
19 March, 2009
Hopeful Change In El Salvador?
By Stephen Lendman
From most early signs, the power structure rests easy knowing Funes represents continuity; business as usual, not hoped for change; so Salvadorans, like Americans, soon enough will know they were fooled again. And if they need more convincing, the painful global economic collapse will be the clincher
18 March, 2009
Latin America Hit Hard By World Crisis
By Luis Arce
Capital Economics—a leading macroeconomics research and consultancy firm that supplies analysis to institutional investors and clients across the globe—reports in its latest Latin America Chart Book that "Latin America's five-year economic boom has come to an abrupt end." The bleak figures cited by Capital Economics stand in stark contrast to the rosy picture painted by financial analysts not so long ago
Crisis, Poverty Huge Challenges For
El Salvador’s Leftist President
By Raúl Gutiérrez
The main challenges faced by El Salvador’s leftwing president-elect Mauricio Funes are forging understandings with other political sectors, adopting measures to deal with the economic crisis, and especially its effects on the poor, and strengthening the country’s institutions
17 February, 2009
Bolivarianism Triumphs In Referendum Vote
By Stephen Lendman
On February 15, Venezuelans voted on whether to let presidents, National Assembly representatives, governors, mayors, and state legislators run indefinitely for re-election after Chavez last December proposed a national referendum for constitutional change - so voters, not politicians could decide. Sunday they spoke decisively in favor by a 54.4% to 45.6% margin with over 94% of votes counted. Chavez didn't win. Venezuelans did for Bolivarian continuity and against oligarch dominance, no democracy, and back to an impoverished state
02 February, 2009
Global Financial Crises And Hugo Chavez
By Abdul Basit
Taking into account the current leadership and their negative performance, it is natural that we make an in-depth analysis about the 'other' leaders who are accused by the dominant media and regimes as 'tyrants' and 'dictators'. Although many leaders come to our mind, the most prominent among them are Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Ahmedinejad of Iran..etc. In this article we will look into the policies pursued by the one among them namely Hugo Chavez, an icon of resistance against Imperialists and oppressors
28 January, 2009
Bashing Venezuelan Democracy
By Stephen Lendman
For 10 years under Chavez, Bolivarianism has flourished, and the greater its success the harsher it's critics. America flounders in corruption, economic chaos and decline. Venezuela's star is rising. One man made it possible. Imagine a future America like Venezuela today. Imagine a caring, not a predatory nation. Imagine a leader in Washington like Chavez. Imagine a groundswell enough to get one
Bolivia's New Constitution: Progressive Change
Or Business As Usual?
By Stephen Lendman
In Bolivia's history, January 25 was historic but getting there violent and uncertain. On July 2, 2006, a new Constituent Assembly was elected. On August 6, it was sworn in, but for six months remained snagged in procedural debates and achieved little. By late December 2007, a new constitution was passed, but the country was as polarized as ever. It still is. On one side, indigenous, popular rights. On the other, elitist interests wanting business as usual
Dirty Business, Dirty Wars: U.S.-Latin American
Relations In The 21st Century
By Cyril Mychalejko
But because of the deeply embedded and institutionalized nature of Washington's imperial machine, it doesn't matter much which party controls the White House and Congress. To fight these developments, we need to continue to grow grassroots media projects and support independent journalists, build long-term solidarity with Latin American social movements and build social movements in the United States, fight free trade and do our part to shed light upon the structural violence threatening Latin America's promising future — which is directly tied to ours
28 November, 2008
Victory
For Venezuela’s Socialists
In Crucial Elections
By James Petras
The pro-Chavez United Socialist
Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 72% of the governorships in the November
23, 2008 elections and 58% of the popular vote, dumbfounding the predictions
of most of the pro-capitalist pollsters and the vast majority of the
mass media who favored the opposition
The
Media Response To Venezuelan Elections
By Stephen Lendman
The Wall Street Journal, New York
Times and other publications falsely reported that a majority of the
population is under opposition control. Official statistics show otherwise
but were ignored
14 November, 2008
Targeting
Hugo Chavez
By Stephen Lendman
Since taking office in February
1999, America's dominant media have relentlessly attacked Chavez because
of the good example he represents and threat it might spread in spite
of scant chance it will in today's climate. Yet some of his fiercest
critics maintain pressure and show up often on the Wall Street Journal's
op-ed page. Most recently on November 10 by its America's columnist,
Mary O'Grady
06 November, 2008
Targeting
Aristide In Exile
By Stephen Lendman
Now four years later a resurrected
charge. As unfounded as the others. On the Wall Street Journal's op-ed
page by Americas writer, Mary O'Grady. Known for attacking democrats.
Supporting repression. Right wing extremism. American imperialism and
corporate power. She's excels in journalistic venom mirror opposite
of the truth
26 October, 2008
Venezuela:
Between Assassination Plots
And Abstention
By Federico Fuentes
Talk of assassination plots and
rising concerns about a high abstention rate have marked the beginning
of the November 23 regional elections race
25 September, 2008
New
Coup D'Etat Rumblings In Venezuela
By Stephen Lendman
With a few months left in office,
the Bush administration may be unleashing its last hurrah in Latin America.
A "hail Mary" effort to reclaim the region. Remove its weak
democracies in countries like Bolivia and strong ones in Venezuela.
And do it in the face of overwhelming domestic problems at home and
lost wars abroad. Will it work? Not if Bolivians and Venezuelans have
anything to say about it, and they're saying plenty. Stay tuned
Ecuador's
Constitution Gives Rights To Nature
By Cyril Mychalejko
Jaguars, spectacled bears, brown-headed
spider monkeys, and plate-billed mountain toucans may all just breathe
a little easier next week if Ecuadorians approve a new constitution
in a referendum on Sunday that would grant these threatened animals'
habitats with inalienable rights
01 September, 2008
Peru:
Indigenous Rebellion In The Amazon
By Kiraz Janicke
Peruvian President Alan Garcia
suffered a major political setback on August 22 after Congress voted
66-29 in favour of repealing controversial presidential decrees that
would have facilitated the privatisation of communal indigenous lands
26 August, 2008
Bolivia:
Right-Wing Rebellion Spurs Left Offensive
By Federico Fuentes
Violent attacks on police officers,
roadblocks, civic stoppages enforced by armed fascist youth groups and
threats to cut off meat supplies and take over gas fields have all been
part of what left-wing Bolivian President Evo Morales has denounced
as an attempted "civil coup" by "desperate people"
following his August 10 recall referendum victory. However, the wave
of protests appears to be quickly losing steam as social movements get
organised to push for the approval of the draft constitution drawn up
by an elected constituent assembly to "refound Bolivia"
15 August, 2008
Corporate
Media Bashes New Chavez
Enabling Law Decrees
By Stephen Lendman
Under Venezuelan constitutional
law, Enabling Law power is legal but limited. So despite media and opposition
claims, it doesn't grant Chavez sweeping "rule by decree"
authority or make him a "dictator."
13 August, 2008
The
Trigger Of South America
By Hamid Golpira
The Indigenous Intifada of the
Americas has won another victory. With 90 percent of the ballots counted,
it seems that Bolivian President Evo Morales received over 60 percent
of the vote in Sunday’s recall election, ensuring that he will
stay in office until his term ends in 2011
28 July, 2008
Bolivia:
Tensions Rising As Vote Looms
By Federico Fuentes
Tensions and uncertainties continue
to rise as what some are calling a bout of "referendumitis" sweeps through Bolivia
01 July, 2008
The
Paradoxes Of Latin American Development
By Prof. James Petras
As US hegemony in Latin America
becomes less profound and pervasive, Latin America's local brand of
neo-liberalism expands and goes global. The onset of the US recession
and financial crisis has little or no effect in slowing Latin America's
export boom, demonstrating the growing de-coupling of the two regions'
economies, rendering obsolete the long-standing cliché…"When
the US sneezes, Latin America catches pneumonia."
The
Rise of Food Fascism:Agrarian Elite
Foments Coup In Bolivia
By Roger Burbach
Some argue that that we are witnessing
the rise of "petro-fascism" as multinational corporations
and nation states struggle for control of the life-blood of the global
economy. Now with the efforts of the multinational agribusiness corporations
and the agrarian bourgeoisies to control the very sustenance of human
life we may be facing an even more violent period of repression, conflict
and upheaval
Alvaro Uribe Velez And
Colombia
By David A.G. Fischer
In the middle of his second consecutive
term, the president is looking to overturn the constitutional law once
again. Supporters of Uribe see no problem with him running for a third
consecutive term. His critics, however, are up in arms. Regardless,
fractions from both sides believe that he will be successful in manipulating
conditions to his favor and thereby maintain his authoritarian rule
over the country
21 May, 2008
"The
"New" Left In Latin America:
What Chomsky Didn't Tell You
By Lorna Salzman
What Noam Chomsky, referring to
the new leftist governments in Latin America, recently described in
the International Herald Tribune as a "promising sign of deliverance
from the (American corporate) demons of the past" is turning out
to be a Business As Usual policy of full speed ahead on resource exploitation
and economic growth regardless of the ecological consequences
20 May, 2008
Spinning
The News - The FARC-EP Files,
Venezuela And Interpol
By Stephen Lendman
Colombia's belligerency, the FARC-EP
files, Fourth Fleet reactivation, continued funding of Venezuela's opposition,
CIA's covert mischief, disruptive street violence, and other planned
schemes are troublesome. They're to reassert regional control and rid
Washington of its leading hemispheric antagonist. No guessing who, and
no telling when the next attempt will come or in what form
17 May, 2008
Grow
Them Young, Pay Them Well -
Anti-Chavistas, That Is
By Stephen Lendman
The Washington-based Cato Institute
is all about "Individual Liberty, Free Markets, and Peace,"
or so says its web site. It's been around since 1977 preaching limited
government and free market religion with plenty of high-octane corporate
funding for backing. It better have it for the award it presented on
May 15. It was to a 23 year old fifth year Venezuelan law student at
Universidad Catolica Andres Bello. Yon Goicoechea was the fourth recipient
of the "Milton Friedman Liberty Prize" in the amount of $500,000.
For what? What else. For serving the interests of capital back home
and leading anti-Chavista protests
03 May, 2008
Bullets
And Bananas: The Violence Of
Free Trade In Guatemala
By Cyril Mychalejko
The ongoing violence against workers
in Guatemala makes it clear that talk of free trade improving human
rights in developing countries is lost in translation. Free trade has
done nothing but exacerbate poverty and inequality, while rewarding
governments for sustaining repressive conditions that allow corporations
to exploit vulnerable, and often powerless workers
18 April, 2008
Venezuela:
Democracy, Socialism And Imperialism
By James Petras
Venezuela ’s President Hugo
Chavez remains the world’s leading secular, democratically elected
political leader who has consistently and publicly opposed imperialist
wars in the Middle East , attacked extra-territorial intervention and
US and European Union complicity in kidnapping and torture
02 April, 2008
Propagandizing
Human Rights In Colombia
By Garry Leech
It happens time and time again.
Following the killing of Colombian peasants, the government immediately
blames guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
and the mainstream media in both Colombia and the United States dutifully
report the allegations. In most cases, evidence later emerges showing
that the Colombian military or its right-wing paramilitary allies were
the actual perpetrators of the crime
01 April, 2008
The
New York Times v. Hugo Chavez
By Stephen Lendman
Romero and others like him in the
mainstream, keep at their appointed mission - attacking the most model
democracy in the region with a clear and purposeful aim - to destabilize,
destroy and transform Venezuela into the alternate model Uribe represents:
uncompromising hard right; hugely repressive; linked to Colombia's death
squads and drug cartels; a supporter of state terrorism; a government
riddled with corruption and scandal; and George Bush's favorite Latin
America leader because of all of the above
19 March, 2008
Latin
America Rejects Bush Doctrine
By Federico Fuentes
Reeling from the blow that it received
in the aftermath of the
Colombian military's illegal incursion on March 1 into Ecuador —
which resulted in the brutal massacre of a number of civilians and members
of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), including its
chief negotiator Raul Reyes — US imperialism has once again raised
the ante in its struggle to undermine the growing process of Latin American
integration
18 March, 2008
Bush
v. Chavez: An Update
By Stephen Lendman
Imagine the following - the nation
Martin Luther King called "The Greatest Purveyor of Violence in
the World Today" may brand democratic Venezuela a state sponsor
of terrorism if extremist lawmakers on the Hill get their way
11 March, 2008
Bush
And Uribe v. Chavez And Correa
By Stephen Lendman
Call it another salvo in Bush v.
Chavez with Ecuador's Raphael Correa as a secondary target and Colombia's
Alvaro Uribe as a proxy aggressor. The Ecuadorean incursion was no ordinary
cross-border raid. It was a made in Washington affair that escalates
a nine year attempt to remove the Venezuelan leader and return oligarchs
in the country to power
07 March, 2008
Underestimating
Rafael Correa
By Fidel Castro Ruz
Absolutely no one has the right
to kill in cold blood. If we accept that imperial method of warfare
and barbarism, Yankee bombs directed by satellites could fall on any
group of Latin American men and women, in the territory of any country,
war or no war. The fact that this happened on undisputed Ecuadorian
territory is an aggravating circumstance
25 February, 2008
Washington
v. Cuba After Castro
By Stephen Lendman
Cuba now begins a new era, its
challenges are huge, and consider the biggest of all - Washington's
relentless pressure the way Deputy Secretary of State (and veteran state
terrorist) John Negroponte put it: Castro stepping down means nothing,
US policy won't change, "I can't imagine that happening any time
soon."
What
I Wrote On Tuesday 19
By Fidel Castro
Change! But, inside the United
States. Cuba changed long ago and will now follow a dialectical path.
We will never go back to the past! Cries our people. Annexation! Annexation!
Annexation! Responds the adversary. That is what it really means when
it speaks about change
The
Failure Of Human Rights Watch
In Venezuela And Haiti
By Joe Emersberger
The way Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Haiti
and Venezuela in its 2008 World Report reveals an underlying assumption
that the US and its allies have the right to overthrow democratic governments
19 February, 2008
Bush
And ExxonMobil v. Chavez
By Stephen Lendman
Reuters on February 7 announced: "Courts freeze $12 billion Venezuela assets in Exxon row." Call it the latest salvo in Bush v. Chavez with ExxonMobil (EM) its
lead aggressor and the long arm of the CIA and Pentagon always in the
wings
28 January, 2008
Venezuela:
The Struggle For
A Mass Revolutionary Party
By Federico Fuentes
In drawing up a balance sheet of
why Chavez’s constitutional reform proposal — that aimed
to create a framework for the transition towards socialism — was
narrowly defeated in a national referendum on December 2, one factor
stands out. The Bolivarian revolution’s Achilles heel is the lack
of a political instrument capable of confronting the challenges faced
in the struggle to construct a new, socially just, Venezuela
10 December, 2007
Ritual
Gloating Postmortems -
The Corporate Media v. Hugo Chavez
By Stephen Lendman
Chavez is resilient and will rebound
from one electoral setback. Don't ever count him out or underestimate
his influence over what co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy
Research, Mark Weisbrot, says is "A historic transformation....underway
in Latin America (following) more than a quarter century of neoliberal" rule
06 December, 2007
Venezuelan Referendum:
A Post Mortem And Its Aftermath
By James Petras
The referendum and its outcome (while important
today) is merely an episode in the struggle between authoritarian imperial
centered capitalism and democratic workers-centered socialism
04 December, 2007
Venezuela's
Social Democracy Hits A Speed Bump
By Stephen Lendman
As expected, his opponents were
gloating, but one pollster struck a positive note saying: "This
defeat has two sides to it for Chavez. He came out the loser after a
tough plebiscite campaign but he also gets rid of the accusation that
he is a dictator." Chavez earlier said and repeated he would accept
the results of the vote, and he stands by his word. It proved the process
is open, free and fair unlike elections in many other so-called democracies
that aren't. The struggle indeed continues with powerful popular support
backing it
The
Referendum Defeat In Venezuela:
A Warning To The Working Class
By Bill Van Auken
The narrow defeat on Sunday of
a constitutional reform submitted to a referendum vote by the government
of President Hugo Chavez has produced a mood of right-wing triumphalism
within both Venezuela’s oligarchy and the US political establishment
02 December, 2007
Venezuela’s
D-Day - The December 2,
Constituent Referendum
By James Petras
A decisive vote for ‘Sí’ will not end US military and political destabilization campaigns but
it will certainly undermine and demoralize their collaborators. On December
2, 2007 the Venezuelans have a rendezvous with history
Tens
of Thousands Protest Chavez Proposals,
Is CIA Fomenting Unrest To Challenge Referendum?
By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez & James Petras
In Venezuela , tens of thousands
of protesters marched through Caracas Thursday to oppose constitutional
changes proposed by President Chavez that come to a vote on Sunday.
Citing a confidential memo, the Venezuelan government is claiming the
CIA is fomenting unrest to challenge the referendum
Venezuela:
A People Under Fire
By Fidel Castro
A victory of the Yes vote on December
2 would not be enough. The weeks and months following that date may
very well prove to be extremely tough for many countries, Cuba for one;
although before that the empire's adventures could lead the planet into
an atomic war, as their own leaders have confessed
29 November, 2007
What’s
Really Happening In Venezuela?
By Lee Sustar
Venezuelans will vote December
2 on constitutional reforms proposed by President Hugo Chávez
and his supporters, capping weeks of sometimes-violent protests by right-wing
opposition forces, a defection by a top Chávez political ally,
and mass mobilizations by Chávez supporters.LEE SUSTAR, recently
returned from Venezuela, looks at the aims of Chávez’s
proposals, the response of the opposition and the shape of Venezuelan
politics today
26 November, 2007
The
Final Battle In Bolivia
By Roger Burbach
Evo Morales, the first Indian president
of Bolivia, is forcing a showdown with the oligarchy and the right wing
political parties that have stymied efforts to draft a new constitution
to transform the nation. He declares, “Dead or alive I will have
a new constitution for the country by December 14,” the mandated
date for the specially elected Constituent Assembly to present the constitution
21 November, 2007
Haiti:
Survival And Poverty In Carrefour
By Nazaire St Fort
The families of Carrefour often
live on less than one US dollar per day and suffer from malnutrition.
The lack of access to potable water and basic health care further compounds
the problem. Few can afford to attend school. With few options young
people are put at high risk of going into prostitution and crime
19 November, 2007
Coup
D'Etat Rumblings In Venezuela
By Stephen Lendman
Venezuela's social democracy is
on the line in the crucial December 2 vote, and the entire region depends
on it solidifying and surviving
17 November, 2007
The
Monarchy's Clash With Socialism
By Pablo Ouziel
In November 2007 at the Ibero-American
Summit in Santiago de Chile, the King of Spain Juan Carlos pointed his
finger at Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and asked him, "Why
don't you shut up?", after Chávez had called José
María Aznar Spain's former Prime Minister a fascist, and José
Luis Rodríguez Zapatero the current Spanish Prime Minister was
trying to defend him
16 November, 2007
Venezuela:
Between Ballots And Bullets
By James Petras
Venezuela’s democratically
elected Present Chavez faces the most serious threat since the April
11, 2002 military coup. Violent street demonstrations by privileged
middle and upper middle class university students have led to major
street battles in and around the center of Caracas
14 November, 2007
Venezuela:
Reform Battle Continues
As Chavez Ally Splits
By Federico Fuentes
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans
took to the streets of Caracas on November 4, in a massive sea of red,
to support the proposed constitutional reforms adopted by the National
Assembly that will be put to a referendum on December 2. Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez has explained that the reforms aim to deepen the
Bolivarian revolution that his government is leading
06 November, 2007
Bolivia:
'A Project For The Liberation Of The Poor’
By Federico Fuentes
When Loayza, together with Morales,
was first elected to parliament in 1997 it marked the entrance of the
indigenous and campesino (peasant) movements onto the political stage
nationally. Two years previously, three of Bolivia’s key indigenous
and campesino organisations, including the United Union Confederation
of Campesino Workers of Bolivia (CSUTCB) headed by Loayza, came together
to construct a “political instrument” that aimed to be “a
political project of the poor, for the liberation of the poor”
17 October, 2007
The
Difference Between Black Brazil And Black U.S.
By Italo Ramos
Reading all this news about race
in the US, more than just to learn about American racial complexity,
I could make sense of how big the differences are between Brazil and
the US, in terms of racial questions. Here are some of them
15 October, 2007
Promised
Social Change In Ecuador
By Stephen Lendman
Raphael Correa was elected Ecuador's
president last November and took office January 15 promising social
change. Correa must now deliver and just got a boost from his governing
Movimiento Alianza Pais' landslide Constituent Assembly election victory
to rewrite the nation's constitution for the 177th time in Ecuador's
history hoping to get it right this time
08 October, 2007
Stalemate
On The South American Chessboard?
By Federico Fuentes
It has been a year of political
tours and counter-tours for Latin America, principally by the two figures
who dominate the regional political landscape: Venezuela's socialist
President Hugo Chavez and US President George W. Bush. While Bush embarked
on a tour in March of Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico,
Chavez made his move by visiting Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Haiti.
At each stop, the warmonger who presides over the US empire was met
with mass protests; the firebrand revolutionary proclaiming the need
for a new socialism of the 21st century was met with mass outpourings
of support
01 October, 2007
Left
Triumphs In Ecuadoran Elections,
Country’s Institutions To Be Transformed
By Roger Burbach
On Sunday the political coalition
President Rafael Correa heads won an overwhelming majority of the seats
in the Constituent Assembly of Ecuadore that is tasked with “refounding”
the nation’s institutions. Rafael Correa's government marks the
emergence of a radical anti-neoliberal axis in South America, comprising
Venezuela, Bolivia and now Ecuador
14 September, 2007
Back
To The Future In The Guatemalan Elections
By Cyril Mychalejko
The September 9 election to replace
Guatemalan President Oscar Berger featured more body bags than tangible
ideas to improve the country. Now facing a runoff election, voters are
left with the tired choice between a military strongman and an oligarch
12 September, 2007
Bolivia:
The Imminent Coup
By Antonio Peredo Leigue
Together with their conspiracy
to “kill the Indian shit”, there are rumours of a coup,
already prepared, and requiring only one or two pretexts to justify
its execution
02 September, 2007
Bolivia:
Political Racism In Question
By Idón Moisés Chivi Vargas
To avoid this dangerous predicament,
Bolivian men and women, indigenous and non-indigenous, brilliant and
honest intellectuals, business owners committed to their country, have
the mission of carefully protecting the results we have had until now:
Nationalisation, Decolonialisation, as the basis of the New Plurinational
Bolivia
24 August, 2007
Haitian
Prisoner Of Conscience Returns
By Bill Quigley
Pere Gerard Jean-Juste, an outspoken
Haitian voice for human rights, economic justice and democracy, returned
to Haiti last weekend for the first time since being hustled out of
a prison cell by heavily armed guards and put on a waiting plane to
Miami in January of 2006
22 August, 2007
America
And Venezuela: Constitutional Worlds Apart
By Stephen Lendman
Although imperfect, no country
anywhere is closer to a model democracy than Venezuela under President
Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias. In contrast, none is a more shameless failure
than America, but it was true long before the age of George W. Bush
21 August, 2007
Peru:
The earthquake And The vultures
By Hugo Blanco
We recommend to those who are donating
that they directly watch over the destiny of their donations. Those
who can utilise the route of some NGOs should do so, in general they
are guaranteed routes. What is certain is that the governmental route
is full of vultures who will devour the large part of the aid
19 August, 2007
The
Ghost of Pinochet Haunts
The Campaign Against Chavez
By John Pilger
In Washington, the old Iran-Contra
death squad gang, back in power under Bush, fear the economic bridges
Chavez is building in the region, such as the use of Venezuela’s
oil revenue to end IMF slavery. That he maintains a neoliberal economy
with a growth rate of over 10 percent, allowing the rich to grow richer,
and described by the American Banker magazine as “the envy of
the banking world” is seldom raised as valid criticism of his
limited reforms
The
Empire And The Independent Island
By Fidel Castro
The history of Cuba during the
last 140 years is one of struggle to preserve national identity and
independence, and the history of the evolution of the American empire,
its constant craving to appropriate Cuba and of the horrendous methods
that it uses today to hold on to world domination
Rethinking
The Development Of Latin America
And The Caribbean For The 21st Century
By James Petras
The specific transformative packages
of measures and the timing should be reflective of the specificities
of each country — but the immediate goal is to hasten the transition
from a pre-national to a national economy. This involves transforming
a speculative real estate market to a socially based public housing
program and a rent, interest, royalty and profit remittance economy
based, on overseas payments, to a self-financing, domestic market linking
local resources and regions. Export sector windfall profits should lead
to strengthening domestic production and exchanges which expand productive
sectors and local consumption based on egalitarian norms which equalize
popular political participation
07 August, 2007
Ecuador:
The Indigenous Movement And Correa
By Federico Fuentes
Today the indigenous movement faces
some real challenges. However forging unity between this process of
change and the indigenous movement to help push forward and defend Correa
as his government comes under heavy attack from imperialism will have
an important impact on Ecuador's destiny
30 July, 2007
Ecuador:
Clash Of Old And New
By Federico Fuentes
Denouncing the congress as “rubbish”
and a “national disgrace”, left-wing Ecuadorian President
Rafael Correa called on the upcoming constituent assembly, for which
there will be elections held on September 30, to dissolve the body,
which is widely viewed as corrupt. The calls came after the opposition-controlled
congress amended a number of recent laws introduced by the executive
to curb unprecedented rises in the price of food
17 July, 2007
Bush,
Health And Education
By Fidel Castro
Yet another example of the plunder: “There are more Ethiopian physicians in Chicago than in all of
Ethiopia.”In Cuba, where healthcare is not a commodity, we can
do things that Bush cannot even dream of
04 July, 2007
Grassroots
Movements Change
The Face Of Power In Latin America
By Nadia Martinez
As the people of Latin America
build democracies from the bottom up, the symbols of power are changing.
What used to be emblems of poverty and oppression - indigenous
clothing and speech, the labels "campesino" and "landless
worker" - are increasingly the symbols of new power. As people-powered
movements drive the region toward social justice and equality, these
symbols speak, not of elite authority limited to a few, but of power
broadly shared
25 June, 2007
Bolivia:
The Clash Of Autonomies
By Federico Fuentes
The election of the indigenous
government in Bolivia is the high-water mark in this struggle for indigenous
self-determination in the Americas, a major leap towards consolidating
the right of the indigenous people to assert majority rule within a
plurinational state. Today, this same indigenous majority is putting
its hopes for this new Bolivia in the constituent assembly
23 June, 2007
Bolivia:
On The Verge Of A Racial Revenge?
By Pablo Stefanoni
Ever since the inauguration of
Evo Morales, the right wing have begun to raise the spectre of a "racial
revenge", supposedly promoted by the new government
21 June, 2007
Uruguay's
Frente Amplio:
From Revolution To Dilution
By MIchael Fox
How one of Latin America’s
most radical progressive coalitions finally achieved their country’s
presidency, and how those at the helm are now turning their backs on
their radical base
18 June, 2007
Bolivia:
Why Do They Fear
Indigenous Autonomy?
By Carlos Cuasase Surubi
Why do they fear indigenous autonomy?
Is it not the best option for the democratic life and tranquillity that
all us Bolivians want, that our rights be written into the constitution
and respected by governments?
09 June, 2007
Wall
Street Journal's Looking Glass World
By Stephen Lendman
She's at it again on the Journal's
editorial page in her June 4 article called "The Young and the
Restless," subtitled "Is this the beginning of the end for
Hugo Chavez?" The writer is self-styled Latin American expert Mary
Anastasia O'Grady always getting top grades in vilification and disinformation
but failing ones on regional knowledge and legitimate journalism
28 May, 2007
Venezuela's
RCTV: Sine Die And Good Riddance
By Stephen Lendman
Venezuelan TV station Radio Caracas
Television's (known as RCTV) VHF Channel 2's operating license expired
May 27, and it went off the air because the Chavez government, with
ample justification, chose not to renew it
23 May, 2007
Pope,
Brazil And Arrogance
By Mike Ghouse
Pope Benedict just visited Brazil
and his comments have caused uproar when he said, “the Church
had not imposed itself on the indigenous peoples of the Americas. They
had welcomed the arrival of European priests at the time of the conquest
as they were "silently longing" for Christianity.” Satere
Mawe, chief coordinator of the Amazon Indian group Coiab responded,
“It’s arrogant and disrespectful to consider our cultural
heritage secondary to theirs."
Is
Evo An Evil Enemy Of The People?
By Guillermo Almeyra
For some there is no doubt. There
are those that say "there is no reason to look at Bolivia"
and who instead declare that Evo Morales "will never decolonise
the country", that the nationalisations that have been announced
are no such thing and, forgetting that support for the indigenous and
popular government surpasses 75%, say, without flinching, that all the
social movements are against the government.So what is the truth?
15 May, 2007
Bolivia – From Colonialism To Indianism
By Christian Rudel
The "new Bolivia" that
emerged from the ballot boxes in 2005 cannot be reduced to a mere victory
of the political left, as some Western commentators have characterized
it. Rather, it is the victory of "Indianism" over more than
500 years of colonialism and injustice
12 May, 2007
Venezuela
Takes On Oil Multinationals
By Stuart Munckton
Thousands of Venezuelan workers
took control of foreign-owned oil fields yesterday as Hugo Chavez stepped
up his battle with Washington in a new wave of nationalisation and an
announcement that the country was leaving the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund [IMF], - reported the British Guardian on May 2
Adios,
World Bank!
By Nadia Martinez
As the controversy around Iraq
War architect Paul Wolfowitz’s uncertain future as president of
the World Bank intensifies, the financial institution is not only losing
supporters. It’s also losing victims. In Latin America, countries
are paying off their World Bank loans early, cutting off ties with the
Bank, and creating their own financing instruments to replace the world’s
oldest multilateral lending agency
08 May, 2007
The
Price Of Fire In Latin America:
An Interview with Ben Dangl
By Joshua Frank
Ben Dangl is the author of The
Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia (AK Press
2007) and the editor of Upside Down World, an online magazine that covers
Latin American politics, and Toward Freedom, a progressive perspective
on world events. Recently Dangl, who won a 2007 Project Censored Award
for his coverage of US military operations in Paraguay, spoke with Joshua
Frank about the emerging social movements in South America and how they
are threatening Washington’s power in the region
04 May, 2007
May
Day Message
By Fidel Castro
It is imperative to immediately
have an energy revolution
Wall
Street Journal Claims Chavez
Oil Policy "Aims To Weaken US"
By Stephen Lendman
The Bush administration and US
corporate media, flacking for Big Oil, is all over Hugo Chavez with
the Journal's May Day article staying true to form
03 May, 2007
The
U.S.’ War On Democracy
By Pablo Navarrete & John Pilger
An interview with John Pilger
Venezuela's
Revolution Accelerates
By Federico Fuentes
To thunderous applause and chants
of approval, Hugo Chávez has called on the Venezuelan people
to radicalize the revolution towards the new socialism of the 21st century
28 April, 2007
Latin
America: Four Competing Blocs Of Power
By James Petras
In reality there are four competing
blocs of nations in Latin America, contrary to the highly simplistic
dualism portrayed by the White House and most of the Left